Looking at role playing from a different angle

Menu

Another day, another battle report… Not for one of my games this time though. Initially it seemed like I wasn’t going to get a Round 2 match for the Conquest of the Solar System League, since we’ve had odd player numbers here in Canberra. Thankfully we found a 4th player at the last-minute, so I managed to get a game in after all. So the battle report for that will be incoming, but first, a report I wrote for the game played between two of our other players, Raxxis (Brotherhood) and Evs (Dark Legion).

I’ve added a bit more detail around the match this time around, including army lists and explanations of the scenario, to make up for the fact that I couldn’t figure out how to do a full narrative for this one. I’m also messing around with the format for the report itself, placing the photos for each turn in a slide show at the end of the activation breakdown, so that the post doesn’t end up stupidly long. Enjoy!

Primary Mission: F.U.B.A.R. – The Defending player (Raxxis) deploys in the Convergence, a 6″ radius circle centred on the middle of the board. The Attacking player (Evs) deploys using Escalation, rolling for each squad to see if they arrive on Turn 1 or 2, then rolling when the squad activates to see which board edge they arrive on. At the end of Turn 3, if the defending player has more 50% or more of the their starting squads within 6″ of any board edge, and if the Attacking player has 50% or more of their starting squads inside the Convergence, they complete the objective for 10 MPDark Legion Faction Mission: Corporate Insider – Evs needed to keep the Commander for squad of 5 Troopers attached to Roberto Feltordo alive until the end of the game to score 5 MPBrotherhood Faction Mission: Veterans – Raxxis needed to keep more than 50% of the squad of 10 Troopers attached to Inquisitor Majoris Hanno Hamilkar alive by the end of the game to score 5 MPCommander Kill: If either player managers to kill the opposing commander with their own commander, they score an additional 5 MP

Note: Sections in italics are the mechanical/out of game explanation for what is happening.

Game Setup: With the match set on Luna, the terrain set up looked like an area affected by urban decay. Collapsing buildings, shipping crates and cars abandoned. The idea was that it would be an area outside the population centre that had seen battle, and had yet to be reclaimed and rebuilt. The mission rolled was F.U.B.A.R., which for the purposes of this game we fluffed as the Brotherhood having received word of some kind of potentially heretical stuff going on in the area, and having sent a force to investigate, not realising that whatever was there was something that the Dark Legion wanted, and that a horde was incoming. The Brotherhood was attempting to extract themselves, with the intention of coming back with reinforcements (the Live to Fight Another Day plan), while the Legion were trying to recover whatever was hidden there, and would gladly kill some Brotherhood soldiers while they were at it.

The Luna night was cold and still as Inquisitor Majoris Hanno Hamilkar strode through the rubble surrounding him. He and his men were in the ruins of an outpost just beyond the city borders, an old industrial district used by the Brotherhood and the megacorps to store incoming goods before distribution. It had been destroyed years ago in an incursion by the damned forces of the Illian, the Dark Mistress. Hanno had been present for the battle, a younger man yet to achieve his current rank. Glancing around, he could almost hear the screams of the workers as they fled from the horrors that were appearing all around them. Hordes of deformed, childlike creatures firing poison into the crowds, lobbing balls of energy that became tears in reality, painful to look at. Heavily armoured Templars bursting from the tears, laying about them with maces and assault rifles that seemed to scream as they fired, wiping out civilians and soldiers alike with cruel efficiency. Beams of light slamming into the ground, each one leaving behind a trio of hulking beasts, twisted and raging mockeries of the disciplined Templars. And looming above all of them, a three-horned figure surrounded by writhing chains that lashed at anyone unfortunate enough to get too close. Balkazar, most favoured of Illian’s Nepharites. In the end, the combined corporate and Brotherhood forces had managed to beat back the foe, driving them back through the dimensional rifts they had come through, though not without heavy losses, and sufficient damage to infrastructure to render entire complex unusable. It had lain empty ever since, with no one willing to put forward the resources or manpower necessary to rebuild. Perhaps, Hanno mused, there was a more sinister reason the area had never been reclaimed.

A number of people travelling through the area had reported seeing activity in the complex. Nothing major, just people moving around the central ruins, but anyone being in the area was odd in and of itself. Anything of any value or use had been stripped out shortly after the attack. No one had investigated, as being too curious was something that could, and often would, get you killed. But word had spread through the population until it reached the ears of the Brotherhood, and made its way to Hanno himself. He’d never been one to delegate field missions, even those that were more than likely a false alarm like this one, being a firm believer that as an Inquisitor Majoris, it was his responsibility to lead from the front. So he had gathered a small strike force, twenty of the Troopers currently on duty, three of his most trusted Inquisitors, and a single Judicator, armed with twin AC-100 Crusader Cannons, in case there was a need for some serious crowd control. Much to his disgust, Roberto Feltordo, the hedonistic bastard of an Icarus pilot, had decided to “tag along for a laugh”, and had commandeered a small group of Troopers as his personal lackeys so that he’d have an audience for his awful stories. Feltordo’s skill as a pilot couldn’t be denied, and was in fact all that kept him from being excommunicated. But that didn’t mean that Hanno had to like him. Still, the man could be useful, and there was no sense in rejecting a proven tool in the fight against the Legion. Their destination loomed ahead, the shattered remains of a Brotherhood facility at the heart of the compound, styled as a Cathedral to remind those who worked there who, and what, they were in the service of. He gave a signal, and the men moved into the ruins, the Troopers and the Judicator taking up defensive positions as he and the Inquisitors began their search. There were clear signs of activity, with a patch of floor in the middle of the building having been quite obviously deliberately cleared, but there was no sign of what they had been doing… Were they just looters, hoping for easy pickings, or was something more sinister happening here? Whatever the answer, he would find it, and put a stop to it one way or another.

The oppressive silence was shattered by a burst of gunfire. Hanno turned to see one of the troopers on the perimeter fall. He knew that sound, all too well. A Belzarach assault rifle, which meant Necromutants, and worse on the way. Without knowing exactly what was coming, a tactical retreat was the only logical option He yelled to his men as they took cover against gunfire.

“LEGION INCOMING! Fall back, cover each other, and choose your shots carefully! Our faith in the Light, the Cardinal, and our own righteousness will see us through!”

Deployment: Dark Legion having won initiative, they chose to go on the offensive, and deploy using Escalation. After rolling for their deployment turns, only the 2 squads of Necromutants were able to deploy on Turn 1, all other units deployed on Turn 2. The Brotherhood deployed using Convergence, which put most of them inside the largest ruined building.

Turn 1: Dark Legion win Initiative

Dark Legion: Evs rolls for Necromutant squad 1 deployment, bringing them in on the table edge to his right. They manage to kill 1 Trooper, with the rest maintaining cover in the building they deployed into.

Brotherhood: Roberto Feltordo and Trooper Squad 2 activate. Feltordo casts Sacred Supremacy to provide IA (10) and +3 Ranged Skill (RS). A Scoped Rifle Trooper battle focuses and shoots the 3rd member of Necromutant Squad 1, killing it. Having lost 60% of their squad in a single turn, the Necromutants make a break check, and fail it. The two survivors immediately recover from Stun and run off the field. 2nd Scoped Rifle shoots at a member of Necromutant squad 2, hits but armour save is successful.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The roar of the Necromutants echoed through the compound, from multiple directions. The abominations were moving to cut off their path of retreat. Hanno signalled to his Troopers, half of them forming up on his position while the other half prepared to cover their retreat. Surprisingly, Feltordo had joined one of the squads of troopers staying behind. Say what you will about him, the man was no coward, and for that at least, he deserved respect. A blast of energy rocked the building that sheltered the Necromutants as the rear-guard returned fire with rifle and blessed powers, driving them from the field. A second squad of the mutants approached from the rear, firing wildly. As the Judicator turned its cannons on them, Hanno and the troopers moved into cover and prepared for their advance, waiting for the perfect moment.

Dark Legion: The Nasca Razides enter the battle field from Dark Legion primary edge. The first Razide launches 2 grenades, both deviate and hit nothing. Second Razide launches 2 grenades, with the first killing the Squad Commander of Trooper Squad 2, the other wounds Feltordo. The Squad Commander killed was the Corporate Insider for Dark Legion’s Faction Objective, making that objective impossible to complete.

Brotherhood: Feltordo and Trooper Squad 2 activate. Scoped Rifle Trooper moves back into cohesion, battle focuses and shoots at a Nasca Razide, but the Razide makes the armour save. Roberto casts Sacred Supremacy for RS (+3), shoots the Nasca Razide squad commander and deals 1 wound. All other shots from the squad miss.

Dark Legion: The Praetorian Goliath and his Imp arrive. On the primary Dark Legion side of the board. Exactly the opposite side of where a melee focused Commander unit will be of any use. Evs proceeded to screech in rage at the fact that his entire army except for the sole surviving Necromutant was on the wrong side of the board due to random dice rolls.

Dark Legion: Lone Necromutant survivor runs out, gets mowed down by a Sentry Inquisitor before he can fire his Heavy Plaguedealer flamer at Hamilkar’s Troopers.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Judicator re-positioned itself and took aim at the nearby Necromutants again. Its cannons roared as it mowed down most of the squad, leaving only their leader and one other. From behind the troopers came a wall of sound and fury. Explosions, gunfire and screams of pain and triumph, so heavily mingled that it was impossible to tell which sounds were human and which came from the beasts of the Legion. As Hanno looked back to size up the situation, he saw most of the rearguard fall. Feltordo and his squad disappeared in a hail of bullets and grenades. They had died well, defending their brothers, and their sacrifice would not be forgotten. As the smoke cleared, a towering figure swathed in a tattered blue robe stalked forward, its mouth a hideous grin like a knife slash through rotten flesh, an enormous scythe held at the ready. A Praetorian Goliath… They needed to leave, now, and return with reinforcements. He turned and raised his gun, silently running through a prayer as he aimed at the Necromutants still in his path. A single shot ripped through the skull of their leader, and the sole survivor snarled in rage as it stormed forward, priming a terrifying looking flamethrower. As it left the cover of the shipping container it had been standing beside, the Inquisitors opened fire, preventing it from turning its weapon on Hanno and his squad. Their path was clear, but there was no time to waste.

Brotherhood: Inquisitors activate and move to within 6 inches of the board edge.

Dark Legion: Praetorian Goliath runs into Convergence

Brotherhood: Hamilkar and Trooper Squad 1 run into within 6 inches of board edge.

Dark Legion: Praetorian Stalker Squad 1 reveal themselves and run into the Convergence area

Brotherhood: Judicator activates but is already within 6 inches of board edge. No actions

Dark Legion: Nasca Razides run into Convergence

Brotherhood: 3 troopers activate to try to kill the Razides and stop Evs from scoring any points by preventing him from having enough squads in the Convergence. No wounds dealt at all.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As Hanno and his surviving men fled the compound, a great roar rose from the ruined building behind them. They looked back, expecting to see the monstrous forms of the Legion forces spilling out from the rubble in pursuit, only to find that nothing was following. Hanno sighed as they kept moving. Whatever they had wanted, it was in that building. No doubt the beasts would be gone by the time he could return with sufficient men, but he vowed that this wasn’t over. He would avenge his fallen, and strike down those who took their lives with righteous fury. Even Feltordo would be avenged, because in the end, Hanno reflected, he proved himself to be a man worthy of his place in the Brotherhood.

Of course, he felt rather differently, about Feltordo at least, when they finally arrived back at the garrison and found the smug bastard sitting in the mess hall, drinking and telling tales of his thrilling flight from the clutches of the Dark Legion’s most fearsome soldiers, the Praetorian Stalkers. Some nonsense about a personal shield device and escaping under the cover of dust raised by the grenades being fired by the Razides. Hanno sneered in disgust. Good men had died, while this braggart managed to skulk away? The man was truly blessed by the Light, but that didn’t mean that Hanno had to like him…

Game End: Brotherhood win 15-10

Primary Mission (F.U.B.A.R.): Both forces have sufficient units in their objective area – 10 MP each